What’s up everyone! We already have our first Top 10 upset in October. Florida tore apart Ole Miss last weekend to only have the same thing done to them against Missouri. Missouri was questioned for being in the Top 25, but they proved that they belong in the Top 25 even without Ahmad Hardy. The SEC powers once again go through Alabama and Georgia (which we’ll find out this upcoming weekend) and everyone’s living in their world. What I’ve learned so far are those two teams above, Ohio State, Miami, and Notre Dame stand out in college football this season. BYU showed resiliency and hope to continue that on Friday and stay undefeated for an impending home matchup with Notre Dame in 2 weeks. Indiana, LSU, Utah, Oregon, UCLA, Boise State, and LSU aren’t too far away from being up there this season too. However, Clemson, Michigan, Penn State, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Miss State and TCU are among CFP hopefuls that are likely done after poor performances and/or injured key players that impacted the team. The New Pac-12 conference matchups kicked off in a big way and it was pretty entertaining. If you also take a Colorado State defensive coordinator walking out in the middle of the game, the Pac-12 is so back! UMass lost their first game of the season but what a run it was to start the season by the Minutemen. Lastly, remember the name Braden Atkinson. I love that quarterback so far this season.
Ready yourselves this upcoming weekend because we have some gauntlet matchups that’ll create more continental shifts in the Top 25, and we’ll get more of an idea on some CFB powers that may be. Have a great day!
12) JAMES MADISON (5-0) [G6]
JMU notches their first home win in their series matchup against Marshall. Prior to that, they were 0-2 all-time and road teams won the last 4 meetings between these two. Question me about them being there over Boise State, but I’m not swapping until the Broncos do something or the Dukes lose their first game.
11) MISSOURI (4-1)
Missouri made by far the biggest jump into my Top 12 Power Rankings this season. They proved that the Miss State loss was a forgettable one because they annihilated Florida that pulverized Ole Miss prior to that matchup. Mizzou was the first team to hold Florida under 40 points this season (17 points). They also held one of the best rushing teams to 42 total yards. Meanwhile, Jamal Roberts put up 211 rushing yards without Hardy, and the offense continued their consistency against competitive competition.
10) LSU (4-1)
LSU pummeled McNeese State for 63 points. Not much needs to be said about that “exhibition game”, but they do travel to Lexington to face Kentucky that came off a comeback win.
9) OLE MISS (3-1)
BYE
8) ALABAMA (5-0)
Alabama’s defense set the tone early before their offense eventually stepped up to outplayed Miss State. Keelon Russell outplayed Kamario Taylor with more talent while the run game as a whole totaled 179 for 4 touchdowns. They may have hurt Miss State’s optimism as Taylor went out in the fourth quarter with an injury.
7) INDIANA (4-0)
Indiana didn’t overlook Rutgers while clobbering them with ease in New Jersey. Josh Hoover is getting more comfortable and putting up huge numbers with Turbo Richard (204 rush yards) and Lee Beebe Jr. (122 rush yards). They may be ready for another road trip to Lincoln as they prepare for undefeated Nebraska.
6) BYU (4-0)
It was another struggle at Fort Worth for the Cougars, but they fought hard and barely escaped thanks to Bear Bachmeier uncaged. He carried the team to victory while the defense eventually put a stop to TCU’s unrelenting opportunity.
5) GEORGIA (5-0)
It seemed like Georgia overlooked Vanderbilt in the first half knowing they have a gauntlet matchup with Alabama. After their first half struggle, they shut out Vandy in the second half while Gunner Stockton put up nearly 300 passing yards. Hopefully, they have everything situated because they need an answer to Bama in regular season play.
4) NOTRE DAME (5-0)
On a wet, rainy day, the Irish overcame a slow start and finally got their run game together to run all over UNC’s defense with over 200 rushing yards as a group. After already having 2 capable running backs, Jonaz Walton enters the fray with over 100 yards rushing.
3) MIAMI (5-0)
Miami clambered past Clemson. They put up over 400 yards of offense, but it was no easy feat. They took a beating on third down efficiency and penalties, but they overcame a tough road environment in Death Valley and completely overwhelmed Clemson knowing they have more talent than them.
2) OHIO STATE (4-1)
Ohio State proved why they dominate the Big Ten annually. They weren’t losing to Iowa no matter how tough that stadium and defense was. They were the better team, overwhelmed Iowa’s offense, and broke their defense by way of Jeremiah Smith, Julian Sayin, and the Jackson Running Backs.
1) TEXAS (4-0)
BYE
WHO IMPRESSED? 👏🏾
IDAHO AND TEMPLE
Idaho hasn’t won a game this season and came up short three times prior to facing Montana State. Quarterback Joshua Woods put the team on his back and carried them to their first victory of the season over the current FCS National Champion. They won off a touchdown and 2-point conversion after being given literally 1 second on MSU’s 25-yard line. Incredible!
Like Idaho this season, Temple proved to be a hard out. They had two opportunities to defeat both Toledo (lost in OT) and Army (lost off a game-winning TD). They even stayed with Penn State for a half. Ajani Sheppard needed a big win somewhere after disappointing finishes against Toledo and Army. Against USF, he ran a go-ahead 34-yard rushing touchdown to give them their eventual victory. I can already tell how happy he was after that win.
WHO DISAPPOINTED?🙅🏾♂️
PENN STATE
After all the preseason hype for the Nittany Cyclones that had one of the “easier schedules” of the Power 4 teams, they faltered badly in their last two games. They gave up a 17-point lead and lost to Wisconsin and followed up with an embarrassing blowout road loss to Northwestern in the new Ryan Field Stadium (which looks so awesome! Check out their $5 meal price).
WHO I’M UNSURE OF? 🤔
TEXAS TECH
They may be undefeated and in the Top 12 rankings, but they have been less than impressive on offense. More importantly, Cam Dickey got injured and more was put on Will Hammond and J’Kori Williams to be more productive on offense. Defense proved to be legit, but it looks like this team overall may be a bit vulnerable in the Big 12 after Houston took them to the wire last month. They will face stiffer competition as they dive deeper into the conference.
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